Cancer Questions: More Diagnoses

“Cancer seems like an epidemic with more people diagnosed. What’s going on?”—Irene Hung, 29, Miami Beach

Despite scary headlines, rates of many cancers are going down in this country, says Michael Thun, M.D., an epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society (ACS) in Atlanta. Breast cancer incidence rates have dropped 11 percent since 1999; experts say that’s because women stopped using hormone-replacement therapy after studies linked it to cancer. Fewer women have had colon cancer over the past two decades, with an assist from tests that help detect precancerous polyps. Women’s risk for lung cancer has plateaued after decades of increase—and is expected to decline as more women quit smoking. Ovarian and uterine cancers are less common because women are taking birth control pills for longer periods of time. (The Pill prevents ovulation, which is thought to trigger cell damage and raise the risk for tumors.) More encouraging news: If you do get cancer, you’re more likely to beat it. Breast cancer death rates are down 30 percent, thanks to earlier detection and better treatments. And five-year survival rates for all cancers are up almost 20 percent. With research and advocacy, we can lower those numbers more every day.